Determined Jackson County woman fits last of 32,256 pieces

HANOVER — An avowed “left-brainer,” Pat Norman thrives on making order out of disorder, structure out of randomness.

But even her calculating mind found a formidable foe in something as simple as a jigsaw puzzle.

Well, maybe simple isn’t the right word.

This puzzle, a picturesque view of the New York City skyline from the 61st floor of the Rockefeller Center, has 32,256 pieces, MLive.com reported.

“There were times when I’d get five pieces in and I’d be happy,” Norman said. “Then, there were times I was nauseated because I was so stressed.”

It took Norman 20 months to complete this colossal 17-foot-10-inch-wide-by-6-foot-4-inch-tall puzzle.

“I was not going to let it defeat me,” she said.

Since retiring in 2008 after 26 years as Jonesville Community Schools’ business manager, puzzles have become Norman’s passion. But when her husband Jim first found this Ravensburger puzzle titled “New York City Window” at the Toy House in Jackson, Norman wasn’t keen on it.

“I said, no way; don’t even think about it,” she said.

But the challenge of conquering this kind of beast began to gnaw at her.

“The more I thought about it, the more excited I got,” Norman said.

Soon after purchasing the $300 puzzle in December 2014, it became clear that her husband’s bad back wasn’t going to let him help piece it together. Norman started it right away anyway, and finishing it became her solo effort.

The 42 pounds of puzzle pieces came in a big box. They were divided into eight packages, with each package making a 4,000-piece section of the whole picture.The Toy House has sold three of these puzzles, the Normans being the first buyers, said Phil Wrzesinski, owner.

“Pat is the only one we’ve heard back from, and we were really excited,” Wrzesinski said. “We knew it could be done. It just takes someone with a lot of patience and the will to do the work.”

Norman put each section together individually and stored the completed sections flat on a table until they all were done.

“You had to get out of the mindset of going for the edge pieces,” she said. “You had to sort by color and even by the subtle shading of the colors in the pieces.”

Using a lighted magnifying glass, Norman meticulously matched piece by piece until the final piece was in place on Aug. 12. It then took another hour to connect all the sections on white poster board on the basement floor.

The challenge now is to find a place for the completed puzzle as it currently rests on the floor in a room where a Thanksgiving meal soon will be served. Norman won’t completely dismantle it, but she will take apart the sections so she can store them until deciding where and how to display the whole thing.

“I would do another one like this — not right away — but absolutely again,” she said.

In the meantime, Norman, who co-pastors Jonesville’s Adriel Christian Church with her husband, has begun a new puzzle.

“This one only has 9,000 pieces,” she said.

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